Sunday 5/25 We arrived in Olando and headed to Wilderness Lodge to check in. We stayed on conceirge level so we bypassed the huge line at the check in desk and were taken right up to the top floor of the hotel. We were the only ones checking in there. We decided to book a few behind the scenes tours while we were there. We checked in the bags and headed to the gift shop. My wife bought a Pal Mickey. Then we headed off to MGM.

It was Star Wars weekends and it was pretty crowded. We figured we would just hit some of the Star Wars things and then head back to the hotel. We ate at the ABC Commisary then headed back. We hit the hot tub then bed.

We headed for Epcot. We had decided to do the "Behind the Seeds" tour at the Land pavilion at 1:00. We immediately went to Test Track and got a fast pass. The park was fairly crowded. We took the manditory pictures of Mission: Space then did Ellen's Energy Adventure then back to TT. We then went to Ice Station Cool and Journey in to Imagination. Then we went to the Land and had lunch while we were waiting for our tour. If you have never tried the food at the counter service in the Land, they have some of the best quick food in all of WDW.

The behind the seeds tour was very good. The guide leads you through pest control, and all through the greenhouses that you see during the Living with the Land boat ride. The tour lasts about an hour.

Next was the World showcase. I was very impressed by the Flower and Garden Festival. At the entrance to the WS there was a garden maze that featured topiaries of famous Disney dogs(including Stitch at the center of the maze.

We then went to Canada to check out Off Kilter. When the show was done my wife headed back to the hotel( she had an appointment for a massage at the Wilderness Lodge Villas). I went to the Living Seas and got there just as feeding time started.

I decided to take the monorail to Magic Kingdom and take the boat to Wilderness Lodge. When I got off the monorail, it looked like a lot of people were leaving the MK. I had a few hours until the park closed so I went in. There was an extended Flag Retreat ceremony for Memorial Day. There were no lines for anything. I rode the Haunted Mansion twice, Big Thunder, Splash Mountain, Pirates and the Jungle Cruise. I guess people left early because of the holiday.

Back to Epcot. We went back to the countries in Epcot and hit some of the shops in the countries. Lunch in Norway. Then back to the hotel for dinner.

There was an E-ticket night at Magic Kingdom from 7-10 so we headed there about 5:00. It was not very crowded, even for an E-night. There was no lines for anything. We went back to the hotel and hung out at the pool and hot tub.

Wednesday 5/28

Animal Kingdom. Contrary to Leslie's opinion, it is not just a zoo :wink: The second tour we booked was the Backstage Safari. Another awesome tour. We met up with the guide at 8:30 and were taken backstage and to a van. The first stop was a rhino barn. Different castmembers told a bit about the animals and how they are taken care of. We even got to pet the rhino. Next was the giraffe barn. We were taken to a conference room backstage and met a herpetologist.(He immediately told us that it was the study of reptiles, not herpes ) From there we went to the kitchen where they prepare the food for the animals. Frozen rats!!! :shock:
After that we were taken on a special Kilimanjaro Safari with the herpetologist as the guide. This is not a usual part of the tour, but was added because the elephant had just had a baby and access was restricted. Our guide said it worked so well that he was thinking of keeping it in the tour.

This is another must see tour. We hit most of AK then decided to just kick back for the rest of the day.

Hang out at the hotel day. We just hung out at the hotel and did the water mouse speedboats. My wife decided to go tanning and got cooked pretty good, mostly because she fell asleep and I didn't get back to wake her up when she wanted me to :wink:

Later we met some friends at Rainforest Cafe for dinner. We spent the rest of the night shopping at the marketplace and then went over to West Side. After that we went to see Bruce Almighty at the AMC theatre. Funny movie but way to preachy at the end.

Oops almost forgot. Monday night we went to Boardwalk. We had dinner at the Big River Grill. The burgers were aewsome. Then we went to Jellyrolls. This is probably the best kept secret at WDW. The dueling piano players are awesome. They take requests and can play just about anything you can name, from country to rap to heavy metal

Friday 5/30 TIme to go home

Friday morning we checked out when we got up. We left the luggage with bell services and went to MGM. We headed straight for RNR and TOT. Then over to Star Tours to check out the SWW happenings. The park started getting busy so we decided to leave.

We went back and got the car and luggage and went to check out Celebration. This place was awesome. We checked out some of the model homes and then went to the downtown shopping area. I highly recommend taking an afternoon and walking through.